Forsythia Gates Reopening at Dumbarton Oaks Park

 Dumbarton Oaks Park 74^th Anniversary Celebration

 

Sunday, April 12

12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

 

>>To many people in the Washington, DC area, spring is heralded by the much-celebrated blossoming of the cherry trees along the National Mall’s tidal basin. A less-renowned though equally dramatic and colorful springtime phenomenon is the curtain of forsythia cascading around the iconic estate gates and the blooming of wildflowers and native trees in Dumbarton Oaks Park. From bluebells and daffodils to saucer magnolias and redbuds, the spring colors of the unique park offer inspiration and beauty to national capital area residents and tourists alike.<<

 

Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and promoting the culturally significant Dumbarton Oaks Park in Georgetown, announced  that it will host the park’s anniversary celebration.  

 

A free event open to the public, the 74^th Anniversary Celebration will include a gate reopening ceremony with remarks by Rock Creek Park Superintendent Tara Morrison and Conservancy President Lindsey Milstein; exhibits from park partners focusing on urban environmental protection and conservation landscaping; children’s arts ‘n’ crafts activities; a wildflower walk led by expert naturalist Mary Pat Rowen; and a park history and restoration-focused Secret Garden Stroll led by author-historian-Conservancy staff member Scott Einberger.  

 

Dumbarton Oaks Park is the world’s only surviving wild garden designed by Beatrix Farrand, herself the first professional female landscape architect in U.S. history. Farrand designed the 27-acre property in the 1920s as part of the original Dumbarton Oaks estate. A few months after the wild garden was donated to the public by estate owners Robert and Mildred Woods Bliss, the garden officially opened as Dumbarton Oaks Park on April 12, 1941, a National Park Service administrative sub-unit of Rock Creek Park.

 

Over the years, Dumbarton Oaks Park has been overcome by invasive, non-native plants which threaten biodiversity as well as the park’s historic design integrity. Urban stormwater runoff and its associated problems of erosion and water pollution are also a serious contemporary problem. Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy, an official partner of the National Park Service, was founded in 2010 to mitigate these problems and restore the park to its former glory.

 

EVENT:

Gate Reopening Ceremony followed by a Community and Partnership Celebration.

 

WHEN:

Sunday, April 12, 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

 

WHERE:

Public access to Dumbarton Oaks Park is from approximately 3060 R Street NW in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC.

 

EXHIBITORS: 

Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy , American Society of Landscape Architects , George

Washington University Landscape Design program, Rock Creek Conservancy , British School of Washington , Rock Creek Park Division of Interpretation and Education , D.C. Department of the Environment , City Wildlife , Jackson Art Center , and Rock Creek Songbirds .

 

BACKGROUND:

Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy

The Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy is a non-profit organization established in 2010 that seeks to restore the bulk of one of America’s ten greatest garden landscape designs, namely 27-acre Dumbarton Oaks Park, formerly part of the Dumbarton Oaks estate in Georgetown, Washington, DC.

 

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.dopark.org

Summer Publication Interns Sought

Washington Gardener Magazine, a 10-year-old local gardening magazine is looking for talented SUMMER interns. Candidates must display an eagerness to learn about the publishing industry. 
 

The successful candidate will either be a junior or senior in college who is interested in examining a career in magazine journalism. The unpaid program requires a 10-20-hour weekly commitment, with hours being flexible, including some weekend local garden events. The internship will begin at the close of the student’s spring term and will end at the beginning of the fall term. The student will be responsible for determining whether college credit will also be available for the internship program.

Duties would include: • Communicating with authors • Conducting interviews • Proofing & editing Articles • Researching photographs • Press Releases, both writing and editing • Blogging, both writing and posting • Social Media Campaign • Assisting with mass mailers, and providing general support to our editorial staff. We are willing to do any and all jobs at the magazine, and hope that you will be willing to as well. Ideal candidates will have a journalism background, but all students passionate about gaining experience with a local, vibrant magazine are encouraged to apply.

Students should send a cover letter, names of references, and copies of their best writing samples AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to:

Kathy Jentz
Editor/Publisher
Washington Gardener Magazine
826 Philadelphia Ave.
Silver Spring MD 20910
301-588-6894
kathyjentz@gmail.com
www.WashingtonGardener.com
http://twitter.com/WDCGardener

www.facebook.com/washington.gardener
washingtongardener.blogspot.com

Fenton Friday: Spring has (finally) Sprung!

Peas - soaked and sprouted pre-planting

Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 4th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)

It is a very late start this year. The snow melted and the ground finally started to thaw enough for me to put peas in. This year I'm planting SugarSnap Peas and also some heirloom Sweet Peas for cutting flowers. I added a third kind of pea as well  Oregon Sugar Pod II, which are to be picked at flat and tender stage as snow peas. What kinds of peas are you planting?

Leftover from last year in my plot is asparagus, strawberries, parsley, and garlic. I also have a  smattering of kale other lettuce greens popping back up.

This coming weekend, we have our first meeting of the plot gardeners for the year. It will be fun to see old friends and to see what new folk have joined us.

It has been a very wet week, so I will wait a few more days then I plan to direct-sow the rest of my cool-season crops -- carrots, radish, lettuce greens, etc. What are you sowing in your vegetable gardens this time of year? 

Grow Your Health and more...

Here are some quick reminders about upcoming events and deadlines in local gardening:


Grow Your Health Festival in NoVa
On Saturday, March 28, 2015, from 10:00 to 5:30 the Northern Virginia Whole Food Nutrition Meetup Group will host its third annual Grow Your Health Festival at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia. The event will celebrate home gardening, sourcing organic and local food, and nutrition and wellness. They will show a documentary film; offer class instruction on gardening and nutrition; and host an exhibit hall for gardening services, farmers, food artisans, organic food distributors, and wellness products and services -- see: http://www.growyourhealthnova.com/


Raise awareness of gardening and gardens in the Washington, DC region
To fund our outreach efforts, we are seeking to raise $25,000 in donations through Indiegogo -- please go to www.DCGardens.com by May 1.

Container Gardening Basics and Beyond Talk
   It is being offered twice, so you can attend on either Thursday, April 2, 2-3:30pm OR Saturday, April 4, 10-11:30am
Instructor: Kathy Jentz, editor/publisher, Washington Gardener Magazine. Kathy will cover the basics of growing successful container plantings, from ornamental to edible containers, as well as the different styles and fashions in container gardening.
Fee: $22, FOBG: $20; registration required. Held at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.
 Register at: http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/xperience.shtm

Sharing Seeds
If you are a local nonprofit in the DC-area and would like some seeds to kick off your gardening season, please contact Washington Gardener Magazine at WashingtonGardener@rcn.com with your seed request by April 3. Put "Seed Request" in the subject line and list in the body of the email what specific seeds you would like to grow. You will need to arrange seed pick-up in early-mid April from our headquarters office in downtown Silver Spring, MD. We have all kinds of seeds -- annual flowers, herbs, and edibles. We will try to fill all the seed requests we can as long as supplies last.

Win a GrowEase Seed Starter Kit in Washington Gardener Magazine March 2015 Reader Contest
To enter to win the GrowEase Seed Start Kit, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Sunday, March 29 with “Seed Starter Kit” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The prize winner will be announced and notified by March 31.

Next issue of Washington Gardener Magazine
Any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the April 2015 issue are due by April 10.  Please send to WGardenermag@aol.com with "Submission" in the subject line.

Garden Book Club
For our next Washington Gardener Magazine Book Club selection, we will be discussing: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The book club meeting will be held at the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library in the Medium-sized Conference Room on Wednesday, April 22, from 6:30 to 8:00PM. The book club meetings are FREE and open to anyone who would like to attend.  Please RSVP to "WG Book Club" at WashingtonGardener@rcn.com

Container Gardening Basics and Beyond

This new container gardening class is being offered twice, so you can attend either on Thursday, April 2, 2-3:30pm OR on Saturday, April 4, 10-11:30am.
Instructor: Kathy Jentz, editor/publisher, Washington Gardener Magazine.
Kathy will cover the basics of growing successful container plantings, from ornamental to edible containers, as well as the different styles and fashions in container gardening.
Fee: $22, FOBG: $20; registration required.
Held at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.
Register at:
http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/xperience.shtm

Win a GrowEase Seed Starter Kit in Washington Gardener Magazine March 2015 Reader Contest

For our March 2015 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, Washington Gardener Magazine is giving away a GrowEase Seed Starter Kit from Gardener’s Supply Company (prize value: $17).

   They’ve solved the challenges of over- or under-watering with the no-fail self-watering feature. Simply fill the reservoir and plants get the water they need, when they need it. That’s worry-free watering! Forget flimsy, single-use look-alike seed starting kits; this heavy-duty system is reusable, again and again. It includes an extra-sturdy leak-proof reservoir, platform and planting cell tray that are all dishwasher-safe, making them easy to clean and sterilize between uses. And the capillary mat, which delivers moisture as seedlings need it, can be used over and over; simply hand wash between uses. A clear germination cover maintains proper humidity while the seeds are germinating. The support platform that holds the planting cells doubles as a seedling ejector. Read more about it at: http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/all-about-growease/8570.html.

   To enter to win the GrowEase Seed Start Kit, send an email to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Sunday, March 29 with “Seed Starter Kit” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Please also include your full name and mailing address. The prize winner will be announced and notified by March 31.
  
UPDATE: Congratulations to Gay Ludington of Dunkirk, MD, who was selected at random from among the many entries to win the GrowEase Seed Start Kit.
     Thank you to all to who entered the March 2015 Washington Gardener Reader Contest. Look for our next monthly reader contest and be sure to enter again!

Washington Gardener Magazine March 2015 issue features a Cabbage-Growing Guide for the Mid-Atlantic, 10 Tips for Easy-Care Beds and Borders, and Organic Lawn Care Practices

Washington Gardener is the magazine for gardening enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region. The March 2015 issue is being sent now as a PDF to all current subscribers.

It is also now posted at: http://issuu.com/washingtongardener/docs/washingtongardenermar15

This issue includes:
~ Bletilla: A Hardy Orchid for our Climate
~ 10 Tips for Easy-Care Beds and Borders
~  March-April Garden Tasks
~ Cabbage-Growing Guide for the Mid-Atlantic
~ A Visit to the Virginia House and Garden in Richmond
~ Organic Lawn Care Practices
~ Growing Strawberries in Containers
~ Local Garden Events Listing
~ Reader Contest to Win a Seed Starter Kit
and much more...

Note that any submissions, event listings, and advertisements for the April 2015 issue are due by April 10.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY by using the link at the top-right of this blog page.

Is it Spring Yet? A hopeful Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

It is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day again! On the 15th of each month, we gardeners with blogs share a few bloom photos from our gardens. Here is the Mid-Atlantic USA (USDA zone 7) on the DC-MD border, we had had a very harsh winter -- again! Below-freezing temps and ice and more ice. Ugh. I skipped Garden Blogger's Bloom Day for January and February, it was just too demoralizing to face then. This week we finally had some glimmers of a real spring!

The snow melt and revealed Crocus and Snowdrops and Hellbores all in bloom. My 'February Gold' daffodils are shooting up like rockets, but not yet flowering. I expect them to catch up soon though!
I have been sharing a bloom or garden item each day on my Instagram account (@WDCgardener). 

Here is my latest one:

Tommies in bloom in my garden #gardenDC #garden365 #crocus #bulbs #bulbchat #Garden #gardening #plants #plantsagram #plantsomething #winter #purple #thinkspring #floral #Flower #flowers #bloom #blooms #blossom #blossoms #nofilter #RSflowers #RSinbloom #picoftheday #green

A photo posted by Kathy Jentz (@wdcgardener) on Mar 14, 2015 at 6:25am PDT

What is blooming in your garden today?

DC Gardens—Beyond Cherry Blossoms Campaign

Many of you may be aware by now of a new campaign in the form of a web site, whose goal is to raise awareness of gardening and gardens in the Washington, DC region. A group of us local gardening writers, spearheaded by Susan Harris of GardenRant.com, have just launched DC Gardens—Beyond Cherry Blossoms. To fund our outreach efforts, we are seeking to raise $25,000 in donations through Indiegogo by April 13. Most of the funds raised will pay for a monthly email updates on garden-related events in our region and a coordinated social media campaign. We want to bring awareness to DC gardens to outside tourists as well as to hometown audiences. The web site will also identify local gardening information such as lists of great plant choices for our area, garden clubs, garden design sources and resources, etc.

Most of our local public gardens are limited in the promotions they can do for themselves. Some are hand-cuffed by local and federal government regulations. Others are limited by their resources -- lacking in funds, staff time, or expertise. We are seeking to step in and do what they cannot do for themselves -- create a hub for garden tourism and awareness in our region.

DC Gardens is a grassroots, independent media campaign using images of DC-area gardens by month to entice people to discover them. DC Gardens is also a hub of info that helps locals learn to garden and connect with the gardening and greening community.




Can you do me a favor today and sign up for the email list and make a small donation to the Indegogo campaign? To do both, please go to www.DCGardens.com. Please also pass along this post to your fellow gardening friends, garden clubs, plant societies, public garden "friends" groups, etc. You have my permission to use this text in gardening organization newsletters.

Discussing Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer at the next Washington Gardener Magazine Book Club Meeting

For our next Washington Gardener Magazine Book Club selection, we will be discussing: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The book club meeting will be held at the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library in the Medium-sized Conference Room on Wednesday, April 22, from 6:30 to 8:00PM.

The library room allows food and drink and you may bring your dinner and/or snacks to share.

The book club meetings are FREE and open to anyone who would like to attend. 

 

Please RSVP to "WG Book Club" at WashingtonGardener@rcn.com. I will be limiting attendance to 20. If you need to cancel, let me know ASAP so we can give your spot to someone else, should we have a wait-list.

I will announce the date for the next book club meeting's date and location after each previous meeting. We will meet roughly once each quarter/season.

 

The other book club selections for 2015 are:

 ~ Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life by Marta McDowell
~ Teaching the Trees by Joan Maloof 

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Sharing Seeds -- Kickstart the Garden Season!

As we did last year, we have so many seeds leftover from our two recent Washington Gardener Seed Exchanges that we are pleased to announce we will be donating several hundred seed packs to area gardening events and groups. This is part of the reason we tell folks that bringing seeds is not a requirement for attending our seed exchanges, as we always have plenty of extra to share!

Last year we shared with RootingDC, Maryland Master Gardeners, several charter and public schools, a few community gardens, and local libraries. We hope to spread the seeds among even more worthy organizations this year.

If you are a local nonprofit in the DC-area and would like some seeds to kick off your gardening season, please contact Washington Gardener Magazine at WashingtonGardener@rcn.com with your seed request by April 3. Put "Seed Request" in the subject line and list in the body of the email what specific seeds you would like to grow. You will need to arrange seed pick-up in early-mid April from our headquarters office in downtown Silver Spring, MD. We have all kinds of seeds -- annual flowers, herbs, and edibles. We will try to fill all the seed requests we can as long as supplies last.

Native Spotlight: Looking Forward

Guest Blog by Rachel Shaw

Just a few days ago our world was blanketed in white, rather beautifully, I admit. What a difference a few days can make. We’ve had lots of sun and rising temperatures. Now we’ve got mud, water running down sidewalks and gutters and pooling in inconvenient places, and rain in the forecast. It’s starting to look and feel a bit more like spring.

My yard is still pretty patchy – much is still snow-covered, but I found one clear spot close to the house where a little greenery was evident. One source was the rosettes of Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica, the other the emerging reddish stems and leafy fronds of Jacob’s Ladder, Polemonium reptans.

Here’s what the two look like now: 

And here’s what I’m expecting to see later on:

Jacob’s Ladder blooms fairly early – this photo was taken in mid-April a few years ago. It has never spread beyond this one spot, but continues to flourish without problems in the somewhat damp soil of spring, in part shade.

Blue Lobelia comes into its own in late summer. A close relation of Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalis, it is to my mind a little scruffier and less delicate looking than its cousin. However, it also seems a bit less inclined to make itself at home everywhere in the yard. The year this photo was taken this white variety unexpectedly appeared alongside the blue.

About the Author

Rachel Shaw focuses on vegetable gardening and growing native plants in her small yard in Rockville, Maryland. She blogs at http://hummingbirdway.blogspot.com/.

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